The fall happened Saturday at Lost Creek Falls, which is a short distance from the more popular Bridal Veil Falls. According to Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon, the teens were climbing along the edge of the waterfall when it happened.
He said the teens had to be airlifted in separate hoists. The 16-year-old boy who fell 20 feet injured his neck and back. He was taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem. His injuries were not life-threatening, Cannon said. A teenage girl fell about six feet and cut her feet. She was not taken to the hospital.
Cannon said the teens were wise to bring their phones.
"These kids were able to essentially self-rescue by calling 911 themselves," he said. Doing so "gives us a pinpoint location of where they are."
Cannon said the teens were also wearing appropriate footwear for the terrain, and they let others know where they were going.
"Doing those kinds of things can make a challenging or dangerous situation a lot easier to handle," he said.
Cannon said rescues are much more common at Bridal Veil Falls. To his knowledge, there haven’t been any there so far this year — mainly because it’s still closed. An avalanche that happened in January still hasn’t been cleared and damaged the trail.
"Once the snow gets melted away and they get the repairs made on the trail, I'm sure Bridal Veil Falls will jump right back up to being maybe one of the two or three most common areas that we respond to where we get two or three calls a month, maybe more," he said.
To prevent falls or getting stranded, Cannon said hikers should always evaluate the stability of the terrain. He also advised avoiding territory that exceeds the hiker’s skill level.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to say two hikers fell. It previously stated four teens fell while hiking.
